A New Normal
by Millemini
Summary: CHAPTER 4 POSTED Annie returns to DC and Annie and Auggie try to figure out a new normal - which isn't easy. My take on what happens after the end of season 4. Got the idea for some of the plot from some spoilers for the end of season 4 a friend of mine hooked me up with a while back. That ending didn't make to the actual show, but it kicked my muse into gear.
1. Chapter 1

_So...I dropped off the surface of the earth...or something..._

_The past few months have been crazy for me work wise and there has been lots of things going on in my personal life as well. Martin accepted a major promotion at work. Which unfortunately involved a move across the country. Now we have to deal with a long distance relationship 'til I get a job there or find the funds to start my own business as an interior designer. _

_Writing has just not been high on the list and to be honest I haven't been very inspired... I know many of you are eagerly awaiting an update in "Simple Gestures" and both EmeraldEyedPhoenix and I are working hard to make that happen as soon as possible. We've got about 1000 words down for the next chapter and it's very much a work in progress. It will be worth the wait! Promise! :o)_

_This story is inspired by season 4 - which has frustrated me A LOT(!) - and is my ideas of what happens after the end of 4.16. Not sure how long this will be, but I don't intend to drag it out._

_DISCLAIMER: Don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs. Just enjoy playing with the characters... ;o)_

* * *

**-1-**

Annie's journey back to Washington DC took close to 72 hrs. The yacht Auggie had secured in Hong Kong had taken her to an American aircraft carrier in the Sea of China. From there she'd been able to hitch a ride with a helicopter to a base in Japan. There she'd been stuck for almost 24 hours before she'd finally gotten a seat on a military transport plane to a base in southern California. When she arrived there the CIA had a private jet waiting for her and she was flown directly to Dulles.

She was exhausted and anxious as she stepped off the plane. Annie had no idea what was going to happen next. She half expected to be whisked off to Bluebonnet to debrief, like she had been when she returned from Moscow the previous year. A single black Ford Explorer was waiting for her on the tarmac and when she started walking toward it the rear door opened. A familiar figure stepped out. Auggie. Without thinking she started running towards him, but a few feet away from him she slowed down.

"Auggie," she said softly as she stepped closer to him.

"Hey," he said with a small smile on his face as he opened his arms tentatively. It was all the invitation Annie needed and she threw herself into his familiar, warm embrace.

###############

"Mr. Anderson, we've got to get going. The DCS is waiting for Ms. Walker at Langley," the driver said after a few moments. Annie reluctantly let go of Auggie and they slid into the backseat together.

"Is Braithwaite still the DCS?" Annie asked as the driver pulled onto the highway.

"No. He's gone. Calder is interim DCS."

"Calder? Really? What about Joan? Or Arthur for that matter?"

"Joan just had a baby, so… I don't know what might happen in the future though. There are a lot of uncertainties right now…" Auggie shrugged.

"What about you?"

"As I said there are a lot of uncertainties. I just got back to DC yesterday morning and went straight to Langley. Spent the day in debriefs about what went down in Hong Kong. As soon as I got to Langley this morning I was sent here to fetch you. My career hasn't exactly been a topic of discussion yet."

"Have anyone said anything about what will happen to me? Will I be shipped off to Bluebonnet after I meet with Calder?"

"I'm sorry Annie, I have no idea. Calder asked me to meet you at the airport and bring you back to Langley. You'll just have to wait and see what happens in that meeting."

Annie let out a heavy sigh and leaned her head on Auggie's shoulder. They remained silent for the rest of the drive to Langley.

* * *

Three hours later Annie walked out of the DCS office in a daze. She'd been presented an award bringing Henry Wilcox down and Calder had offered her a place on one of the Agency's elite teams with operatives that worked exclusively deep cover. She'd declined and had attempted to resign from her position as a covert operative. It felt wrong to be honored for killing someone, even though Henry had been a traitor and had been behind numerous acts of terrorism. Annie felt unsure about her future with the CIA, and her future in general.

The last few months had left her feeling unsure of who she was and what she wanted to do for the rest of the life. The past couple of years had been the hardest of her life and she realized she'd never really taken the time to decompress and deal with all that had happened to her. As soon as she'd recovered from getting shot in the chest she'd headed to Russia to track down Lena Smith. When she'd been released from the Russian prison she'd thrown herself into the Khalid mission and as soon as that was over and done with Henry Wilcox had approached her with the folder that had changed her life forever. The last year had been absolutely crazy and one thing she was sure of was that she'd never be the same again. Her life would never be the same as it was before she went dark.

Calder had refused to accept her resignation and had ordered her to take some time off and consider her options. As she walked down the hallway it hit Annie that she had no idea where to go. The thought of spending the night at a hotel didn't sound tempting at all, but at the moment she didn't feel like there were any other options. She wondered if Auggie would let her spend the night on his couch, but she was unsure of where their relationship stod and she didn't want to impose. Just as she was about to round a corner a familiar beam of green lasers came into view and she almost crashed into Auggie.

"Watch where you're going," he said irritably.

"Sorry Aug. I guess I'm kinda' lost in thought here…"

"Annie! How did the meeting go?" he asked.

"So-so… I resigned, but Calder refused to accept. He has ordered me to take the rest of the week off and just relax and take things through and report back to him Monday morning."

"That sounds like a good plan to me. I you shouldn't make any major decisions until you've had the chance to decompress a bit."

"I guess you have a point…now I just have to figure out where to stay tonight…"

"You're welcome to stay at my place. You know my bed is big enough for both of us, but if you're not comfortable with sharing I'll take the couch."

"I don't want to impose."

"You know me well enough to know I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it."

"If you really don't mind…"

"I _really_ don't mind. C'mon, let me get my cane and we'll get out of here…"

"I don't have a car Auggie," Annie reminded him.

"I'll call my car service."

"Okay..."

"Let's get going then," Auggie said as he turned around. Annie followed him down the corridor. She was grateful for his support and hoped they'd be able to figure out a new normal.

...To be continued...

* * *

_You know I love reviews... ;o)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the amazing feedback on chapter 1. So glad so many of you liked it! :o)_

_Here's the second chapter - hope you like that too. I've written it from Auggie's POV - but we also get more insight into Annie's thoughts. _

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs._

* * *

**-2-**

Auggie woke up with a start. Annie was tossing and turning on the opposite side of the bed, mumbling some incoherent words. It was obvious that she was having a nightmare. After a moment's hesitation he scooted closer and found her shoulder with his hand.

"Annie, wake up," he said softly, trying not to startle her. A few moments later he heard her inhale sharply.

"Auggie…I'm sorry…did I wake you?"

"It's okay, c'mere," he said as he pulled her closer to him. She hesitated for a second before she settled in with her back against her stomach and allowed him to wrap his arm around her. Auggie felt her relax and soon she drifted off to sleep.

###################

Auggie savored having Annie in his arms again. Just as he remembered they fit together perfectly; like two pieces of a puzzle. It felt right and oh-so-wrong at the same time. Before they'd gone to bed he'd repeated his offer to take the couch, but Annie had firmly declined and insisted that his king size bed was plenty big enough for the both of them. When they'd gone to bed they'd deliberately left plenty of space between them. He knew Annie had been through a lot over the past few months and they hadn't been easy for him either. It hadn't been too hard to put on the act of the grieving boyfriend, he'd missed Annie a lot and he hated that he didn't have any way to contact her. The uncertainty had been hard to deal with and he was upset with Annie for not reading him in on her plans. The grief he'd experienced over the days between the shooting in Frankfurt and Calder's read in had brought Auggie to a state of mind he hadn't experienced since the early days after the explosion that had taken his sight. When Calder had finally read him in he'd been relieved to find out that Annie was alive, but also upset that he'd allowed her to go dark with only one-way communication.

* * *

Annie slept through most of the first week after she arrived back in DC. She was completely exhausted both physically and emotionally from everything she had been through over the past few months and all the uncertainties in her life were overwhelming. After a couple of days she started to get up in the morning to have coffee with Auggie before he left for work. Some days he managed to persuade her to eat a bowl of cereal or yoghurt, but it worried him that she didn't eat much. She felt leaner than he remembered and he had a feeling that she hadn't eaten much lately. He wished he could take a few days off, but the debriefs after Hong Kong were still ongoing and everyone involved had been firmly informed that any requests for time off would be denied until the process was completed.

###################

It was early evening by the time Auggie was dismissed from his last meeting on Friday. He called his car service as made his way down to his desk in the basement IT-department to switch the laser cane with his white cane. He was pleasantly surprised when the car service was waiting for him when he came out of the building 10 minutes later. Once he was settled in the passenger seat he pulled out his cellphone and dialed his landline number. He wasn't surprised when he got his answering machine.

"Annie, it's me. Please pick up." After a few beats of silence he was about to hang up when she picked up the phone.

"Hey, I just came out of the shower," she said, sounding a bit out of breath. "On your way home?"

"Yeah, I just got into the car, so I'm about half an hour out. What do you want to do for dinner? I can pick up some takeout on the way."

"I'm actually a bit hungry. How do you feel about Thai?"

"If you're game I'm game. Green curry with chicken?"

"You know me too well."

"Call in the order and I'll pick it up, okay?"

"Will do. I'll set the table. See you soon," Annie replied before she ended the call.

###################

Little over an hour later they had finished their dinner and Auggie was pleased that Annie's appetite seemed to be coming back.

"Have you thought about what you want to do? Are you still set on resigning when you meet with Calder on Monday?" Auggie asked as he handed Annie a mug of coffee and sat down in the armchair across from where she was curled up on the couch. She took it from him and cradled it in her hands.

"I don't know. I mean…I didn't really let myself believe that I'd ever be back…"

"But you made it. You took down Henry, Annie."

"I know, but I just feel like I don't know who I am anymore…" Annie's voice trailed off and she had a sip of her coffee before she carried on. "And I definitely don't know if I want to stay with the Agency after everything that's happened. Maybe it's time to move on and do something else. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable to work for a company that presented me with an award for killing someone."

"Henry Wilcox was a traitor, Annie. And he was behind so much shit. I think killing him was the only way to stop him. He managed to weasel his way out of jail after being sentenced for treason once. I wouldn't have put it past him to do it again."

"But still…to present me an award for killing him. And a promotion; a place on some sort of an elite team…"

"Wow! Calder offered you a spot on one of the deep cover teams?"

"Yeah. He said that I've done such a good job since going dark and he wants me to keep working deep cover."

"It's a great opportunity. Only the best of the best are offered spots on these teams."

"It's not for me Auggie. That's the one thing I'm certain about after these past few months. I need my friends and family. I can't live like that. I just can't."

"I get that. I have a feeling there's more to it though…"

"It's not only about these past few months… Last year was hard too...Lena shot Simon and me…I almost died and then I spent weeks in a Russian prison…" Annie's voice rose. "And when I got back from Russia wasn't allowed any time to decompress, I was sent right into the Khalid mission… I just don't know if I can go through something like that again. And if I go back to work as a field operative there's always a risk…"

To be continued...

* * *

_Please don't hesitate to leave a review! :o)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for that cliffhanger ;o) And thanks for the amazing feedback. :o)_

_This is short, but I didn't want to leave it hanging too long. The coming few days are busy for me (work, family from abroad visiting...) and won't allow me much time for writing. I hope to have the next chapter up mid-week, but it's more likely to be the coming weekend._

_DISCLAIMER: Don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs. _

* * *

**-3-**

"There's more to working for the CIA than being a field operative, Annie," Auggie said quietly. "Did you consider taking an analyst position? Something that would keep you in-house?"

"I hadn't thought about that…"

"I hadn't either, 'til I didn't have a choice. I think you should consider all of your options with the Agency before you resign and sever all ties. Once you're out you're out for good. No turning back."

"You've got a point," she said quietly.

"I just think it's something you should consider. You've got skills and knowledge the Agency needs and maybe working in-house for a while will be good for you. Maybe we both could have normal-people schedules?"

"You don't think you'll be stuck in the IT-department in the basement forever, do you?"

"I don't know. Right now I'm actually okay with it. I'm just tired and honestly I don't feel ready to take on the responsibilities of my old job. It's kind of nice to be able to leave the office at a normal hour and not worry about being called in to work at some crazy hour."

"Are you serious?" Annie said with surprise lacing her voice.

"It has been a rough few months for me too…" Auggie sighed and raked his free hand through his hair.

"Of course…I'm sorry Auggie, I'm so wrapped up in my own issues…I can't imagine how hard these months have been for you."

"Hey, you don't need to apologize. I don't want you to worry about me; you've got enough on your plate already. I'll figure things out."

"Still, you always have my back. I should be there for you too..."

"You will when you're ready. Until then I can manage. I'm a big boy."

"I know you are," Annie replied, the she changed the subject. "Are you working this weekend?"

"Nope. We'll resume debriefs Monday morning. I'm glad I've got a couple of days off. All those interviews and polygraphs are exhausting."

"I'm glad you've got the weekend off too. How do you feel about a road trip?"

"I thought you didn't have a car."

"I have the 'Vette. I need go to the storage unit where I keep it anyway, I've got some clothes and stuff there."

"My sweats aren't cutting it?"

"Oh, your sweats and pajamas are very comfortable, but I'd like to look a bit more presentable for my meeting with Calder on Monday."

"Probably a good idea," Auggie agreed. "Although I have no doubt you look very hot in my pajamas."

* * *

Saturday morning one of Auggie's regular drivers dropped them off outside the storage facility where Annie kept the Corvette. They agreed that a car would pick them up at 6 pm and after they'd said goodbye to the driver Annie led Auggie to her unit. It didn't take her long to uncover the car and soon they were on the road. They were both silent for the first hour or so of the drive. Annie was the one that broke the silence.

"What happened to Danielle and Michael's house in Georgetown? Do they still have it?"

"Not long after I called Danielle and told her you'd been killed they put the house on the market. It sold pretty fast."

"Oh…"

"An Agency team swept your place and brought your safe to Langley. I don't know what happened to the rest of your things. Sorry."

"It's not your fault, so why are you apologizing?"

Auggie shrugged. He wished the Agency had agreed to send in a team to claim Annie's clothes and personal possessions.

"Maybe Danielle kept your things. You never know."

"She's to practical to pay to move her dead sister's belongings across the country. She probably donated my stuff to a charity."

"You never know…"

"I know my sister. God Auggie…will I ever be able to tell her I'm alive? And how the hell will I break the news to her? I don't think showing up on her doorstep without preparing her is a good idea…"

"I have no idea Annie. It doesn't matter how you do it; it will be a shock."

"I know…" she sighed. "And Danielle will be really pissed off. Maybe she's better of thinking I'm dead."

"Annie, you just told me yesterday you couldn't live without your family…"

"This is so fucking hard, Auggie. The only thing I'm sure of is that there are no right answers."

...To be continued...

* * *

_You know what to do...(hint: review). ;o) xoxo_


	4. Chapter 4

_I've been struggling with this chapter, it just didn't want to come together. Then I read chapter 8 of __**annielovesauggie**__'s awesome story "Different" this morning and all of a sudden my muse was super cooperative. That take on Auggie's family had never crossed my mind 'til I read it, like "my" Annie I've always seen his family as this picture perfect suburban family; white picket fence and all._ _**annielovesauggie**'s__ take opened up so many possible storylines._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Annie, Auggie or any other part of Covert Affairs. This take on Auggie's family was __**annielovesauggie**__'s idea and I've (shamelessly) borrowed that idea and given it my own spin. I really hope you don't mind. xoxo_

* * *

**-4-**

They arrived back at Auggie's apartment little after 7 pm, Annie was carrying the pizza they'd picked up on their way home and Auggie was pulling the suitcase she had brought from the storage unit. They'd made it back there little after five in the afternoon and Annie had sorted through the things she had there and had packed a suitcase of clothes, a couple of pairs of shoes and some other personal belongings. Auggie put his cane away and shrugged out of his leather jacket before he brought the suitcase up to the bedroom area. He left it at the foot of the bed and headed into the bathroom. Annie set the pizza on the kitchen island and got plates, napkins and a beers for them while he used the bathroom.

"I figured we could eat by the island," she said when Auggie came down the steps from the bedroom a few minutes later.

"Sounds good to me," he shrugged. He took a seat on one of the stools and Annie brushed a beer against the back of his left hand.

"Beer," she said. "Pizza at your eleven o'clock."

Auggie placed the beer to his right and grabbed a slice of pizza. They were both hungry and finished their meal in silence. When they were done Auggie cleared away their dishes and placed the leftover pizza in a plastic container in the fridge. He grabbed fresh beers for them and joined Annie on the couch.

###################

"What was it like to grow up with four older brothers? I only had Danielle and that was intense sometimes…"

"Well, my four older brothers are actually half brothers. They're from Dad's first marriage and the youngest one is about eight years older than me. They lived in Massachusetts, with their mother."

Annie was stunned and it took her a moment or three to process what Auggie had just said. It was so far from the picture she'd had of his family. She didn't hide the puzzlement from her voice when she finally spoke. "Wow, I always pictured your family as this perfect suburban family, white picket fence, a dog and all of that stuff for some reason…"

"Really? What gave you that impression?" Auggie was genuinely surprised; they hadn't talked much about their families and he wondered why she fought that.

"Umm...It's not like we've talked a lot about our families, so I don't actually know why I thought that." Annie replied after a few beats of silence. She didn't really have an answer for him.

Auggie decided to be honest and tell Annie the full story. It wasn't something he was ashamed off or felt he should hide. It had just never come up in conversation between him and Annie. "Dad met his ex, Sylvia, at Harvard. They married right after they graduated from their undergrad studies and six months later my oldest brother was born. Dad's parents are pretty well off and they helped them financially so Dad could continue his studies; he'd been accepted to law school at Harvard, but Sylvia ended up staying at home. They had three more kids over a period of five years or so. After graduation from law school Dad got a job at a big law firm in Boston. A few years later he started working at their Chicago office a couple of days a week. Mom was a secretary there."

"And they got involved?" Annie interjected incredulously. It sounded a bit too 'Harlequin-romance' to be true.

"I guess. Sounds like a bad romance novel, doesn't it?" Auggie said with a wry grin. "Anyway, Dad's first marriage wasn't a happy one, he once told me he and Sylvia married mainly because she was pregnant and his father told him it was the right thing to do. Their relationship had been rocky for a while by the time he met Mom. When he got offered a partner position at the Chicago office he decided to leave Sylvia and move back to Glencoe where he grew up. From what I've heard the divorce was a messy affair."

"So, he moved back to Illinois, married your mom and then you were born?"

"Pretty much yes. I also have a younger brother and sister, Aaron and Abigail, they're twins and about two years younger than me. The three of us were pretty close. We hated it when our half-brothers came to stay in the summer and other breaks. They lived in a small town outside Boston with their mother and they really hated Mom and they weren't too fond of us three either. In a way it was us against them."

"Sounds rough…"

"It was. Especially because us kids didn't really understand what was going on and our parents never tried to explain. Mom was always very tense when Matthew, John, Stewart and Christian came and the rest of the family were on tenterhooks to make sure things went smoothly. Which they hardly ever did."

"What about now? Do you have any contact with your older brothers?"

"No, not really. They're all in their forties, married, kids, successful careers…we've never been close and I don't think we ever will be. I don't really care. The only one that contacts me from time to time is Stewart. He's a doctor, ophthalmologist actually, and he's always pestering me about taking part in the studies he's involved in. I've told him repeatedly that I'm not interested in being his guinea pig, but he doesn't seem to take the hint. I guess he means well. The thing is; I've never really seen them as brothers. Because they lived so far away and they were only around for a few weeks of the year they're more like distant relatives to me."

"I get that, but it can't have been easy for them either," Annie said.

Auggie shrugged. "Probably not, I've never really thought about it to be honest."

"You've never thought about how you would have felt if the roles were reversed? If your dad suddenly left you and started a new family in a different part of the country with a new wife and you only got to see him a few weeks a year?"

Auggie was quiet. He'd never really thought about how things were for his older brothers, how hard it must have been for them that their father had left and then started a new family somewhere else. Auggie had always had a pretty good relationship with his father, they'd had their clashes over the years, but despite that his father had always been there for him and Aaron and Abigail. He hadn't been there much for Matthew, John, Stewart and Christian, apart from financial support.

"I've never really thought about that," he finally admitted. "But I see your point. I'm sure it was hard for them."

"What about your younger siblings? Are you three close?"

"We kind of drifted apart after I graduated from high school and moved away to go to college. The CIA recruited me pretty early in my freshman year and between keeping up with my schoolwork and CIA training I was pretty busy. I barely went home for the holidays."

"I thought college was busy without adding Agency training to the equation," Annie said.

"Anyway, after I graduated I moved to DC and started to work as a field officer, initially I worked mostly stateside. I finished my training at The Farm. Since I'd done ROTC in college the Agency encouraged me to go through SERE training and I spent a few months at Fort Bragg to do that. Then I was stationed in Istanbul for a while, until Arthur assigned Helen and me to train Teo in the Czech Republic. I wasn't around much, so the distance grew even bigger."

"So you're not close to them either?"

"Well, after Helen was 'killed'," Auggie air quoted the word killed, "I was transferred back to DC and a couple of months after I got back I was assigned to work Natasha as an asset. After she was arrested I went to Iraq and you know what happened there. After the explosion in Tikrit I was first flown to a base in Germany, then to Walter Reed before I was finally transferred to the Hines VA hospital in Illinois. It's only about an hour away from where I grew up and both Aaron and Abi came to visit a lot. I guess one of the good things that came out of the accident as that the three of us reconnected."

"So you're close now?"

"Close might be taking it a bit far, but we keep in touch on a regular basis and try to get together a couple of times a year. Why are you suddenly so interested in my family?"

"I don't know…trying to figure out my own…"

**...To be continued...**


End file.
